1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic device which is capable of computing the velocity of an ultrasonic wave by means of the synthetic-aperture method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently, research is thriving in the field of so-called tissue characterization which is aimed at the quantification of tissue characteristics according to the variations of physical quantities which are sustained by an ultrasonic wave when it propagates through tissues of a living body. In the above research, velocity has been chosen as a representative physical quantity of ultrasonic waves, and measurements have been made by means of the prior art measuring method which utilizes the transmitted wave.
However, this method has a drawback in that the measurement of the velocity is not carried out by the use of the ultrasonic diagnostic equipment which is currently in use. For this reason, there has been a demand for a method which permits measurement of sound velocity by the reflection measurement through the use of echo signals.